Calorie intake

jlafas1981

I was curious....ive been alotted 1500 or so calories per day.. ..i was wondering does it matter what i eat as long as i am under my alotted calories?

For instance what if i eat a burger and fries for lunch and a salad for dinner totalling 1500 calories versus eatting more healthier options and getting more food...

Thank you for your responses

tigersword

You can eat whatever you want. Obviously you have to make sure you get proper nutrition, but as long as your nutritional needs are met, and you have a healthy metabolic system, the type of food you eat doesn't matter. I eat burgers and fries pretty much on a weekly basis, and I've dropped 50 pounds pretty easily. It's all about portion control.

ameriah3000

I think you can eat what you want, but that also depends on your body. Just counting calories, I have only lost 3 lbs in 3 months. I need to watch fat, protein, and fiber as well. I get too much fat in my diet and not enough fiber. But keep working at it and you can get there!

beckywilkeherbst

In my opinion you need to be aware of everything you are putting in your body. Just because diet soda is diet that doesn't mean that it's going to aid you in your quest to loose weight. Believe it or not there are actual things in diet soda's that trick your metablosim into slowing down thus making loosing weight harder. I would think this would be the same case with "bad foods," too much bad foods with bad fats cause your triglycerides (sp) to rise and therefore make it harder to lose. It's all about being aware of what you are eating, portion control, and eating the bad stuff in moderation. A good friend who is a personal trainer told me, never eliminate anything completly because if you do then you are depriving yourself and won't suceed. Best of luck to you.

Sidesteal

You can eat whatever you want. Obviously you have to make sure you get proper nutrition, but as long as your nutritional needs are met, and you have a healthy metabolic system, the type of food you eat doesn't matter. I eat burgers and fries pretty much on a weekly basis, and I've dropped 50 pounds pretty easily. It's all about portion control.

^ This is a nice summary.

tigersword

Thanks, I'll never understand why people insist on trying to make it so much more complicated than it really is.

Sidesteal

Thanks, I'll never understand why people insist on trying to make it so much more complicated than it really is.

I couldn't possibly agree more.

Vivian_Phoenix

Weight loss---> stay in caloric range (regardless of what you eat)
Health---> eat wholesome foods while staying in calori range.
you will lose weight and have a healthier body if you eat the appropriate caloric range of healthy foods.

Hearts_2015

Thanks, I'll never understand why people insist on trying to make it so much more complicated than it really is.

Some are new this whole concept (just like we all were once) and came from a 'dieting' perspective, it doesn't seem odd to me that questions like this are asked. Seems She's looking for some guidance, nothing wrong with that in my opinion.:flowerforyou:

Elizabeth_C34

Yes, you can eat what you want as long as you stay under your calorie goal and still lose weight.

That being said, it's really important to note that doing this for pure weight loss may not result in a long term sustainable change for you. The most successful people on MFP also made changes to their eating habits that consist of eating better quality foods (ones with more nutritional value). The reason why is that whole fruits, veggies, and lean meats are both lower in calories than their fattier and richer counterparts and contain more of the raw nutrients the body needs for optimum health than say, a cheeseburger and fries. This isn't to say that you CAN'T have a burger and fries or that you shouldn't, but it should be part of a balanced diet and in moderation. Of course, you need to find foods you enjoy eating too. Don't just eat carrots if you hate them because they are healthy. You won't enjoy it or stick to it that way, but do be open to trying new things and ways of preparing your meals that make them palatable and enjoyable to eat.

Edithrenee

i think you should try to eat healthy not to greesy things because you need to make sure what you fill up with is going to give your body energy and be healthy, i want to be thinner but more then this i want to be healty.

bilyboy65

I agree with most of the posts here that you can eat anything you want and still lose weight.

However I'd like to add a few things about doing this. In following this approach you'll feel fuller during the day by eating the fattening foods and then could be hungry at night because you only had a salad. This may prompt you to snack late at night or torture yourself by being hungry. This feeling of always being hungry is what causes diets to fail.

While making sure your caloric intake is under your goals at the end of the day is important for weight lose, it's not the healthiest approach to eating. Your body is a machine just like your car or anything else that requires a fuel source. Your body requires calories all day in order to function correctly. Think of being hungry like your car running out of gas. The low fuel indicator is equivalent to your body's hunger signal.

Spreading out your calorie intake will help your body burn this energy faster. When your body needs energy it tells you you're hungry. You should eat at this point. By keeping yourself constantly hungry you're telling your body that the next source of energy may not be a while and to store all excess for the next time you are hungry. This causes the overeating at one meal to store more fat then you may burn at the end of the day by eating a salad. This is why a lot of people just maintain a calorie goal and still don't lose weight, lose only a little weight or even gain weight. This is another reason that causes diets to fail, as people don't see the results they want.

By lunch time your body has used x amount of calories and needs y amount more to continue. If you eat more then y amount your body will turn the excess that it doesn't need at that point into fat stores. So while it will eventually be burned off at the end of the day when you don't eat a full meal it doesn't train your body properly.

Instead of eating a full burger and serving of fries for lunch and then a salad at night try this approach. Eat half the burger and half the fries for lunch. Eat a serving of fruit or the other half of the fries later in the afternoon when you get hungry again. Then for dinner top the salad with the rest of the meat from the burger or have it as a side to the salad.

Changing what you eat is less important as how you eat. Keep your body burning fat by not allowing it to store it and you'll burn fat much faster as it will have to turn to reserves sooner. Aim for a meal schedule of a breakfast, mid morning snack, lunch, mid afternoon snack, dinner and then another snack.

My method is that I aim for a snack of about 100-150 calories and split the rest among the meals. Breakfast is normally not as a high calorie meal as say dinner so I may have a morning snack closer to the 150 calorie end and towards the lower end at the end of the day.

It's important to remember eating is not your enemy. Just eat what tastes good and try not to over indulge during any meal. The healthier the food that goes in the better your body will perform and faster the results you will see.